Previous posts have focused on the fact that we generally use health care services not knowing what it will cost “out-of-pocket- until the bill comes. This may be changing….

by
JONATHAN M. METSCH, DR.P.H., LLCHudson Reporter

Aug 25, 2014 | 373 views | 0 | 3 | |

A recent Washington Post article http://www.washingtonpost.com * noted: ”There's been much written in the past year about just how hard it is to get a simple price for a basic health-care procedure.”

“About two dozen industry stakeholders, including main lobbying groups for hospitals and health insurers, this morning are issuing new recommendations for how they can provide the cost of health-care services to patients.”

“The report's major recommendations include how to provide patients with: the total estimated price of the service; a clear indication of whether the provider is in-network or where to find an in-network provider; a patient's out-of-pocket costs; and other relevant information, like patient safety scores and clinical outcomes.”

“The report nods to other ways at achieving transparency. For example, it talks about "reference pricing" in self-funded employer health plans, in which employers limit what they'll pay for an employee's health-care services — thus setting the reference price.”

* to read the full Washington Post article “Price transparency stinks in health care. Here’s how the industry wants to change that” by Jason Millman, highlight and click on open hyperlink http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/16/price-transparency-stinks-in-health-care-heres-how-the-industry-wants-to-change-that/